5.Thoughts as Clouds

Benefits: Invites the mind to step back from the stresses of daily life and experience a deeper awareness.
Step-by-Step Instructions

Setup: Sit comfortably with your spine long and your body relaxed and mindful. Close your eyes.

Step 1: Notice the perceptions that come from your senses -- the sounds you hear or the feeling of the floor or chair under you. Notice the sensations of your body -- your hips, your spine, your arms and legs, your neck and head, the skin on your face. Then begin to feel the regular rhythm of your breathing. Feel how your body naturally draws in the breath and lets it out again. Take a few longer, slower breaths.

Notice the thoughts that are going through your mind, whatever they are. Don't make any judgments, but watch the thoughts, as if from a distance. Notice if your body responds to certain thoughts in a certain way. The flow of your thoughts is like the flow of clouds in the sky, always moving. Don't attach particular importance to any thought; just watch the flow. The part of your consciousness that is watching the thoughts go by is like the sun in the sky, often hidden but always there. Begin to sense that current of steady awareness behind your thoughts. This is the source, this is who you really are. This is the source of true wisdom and tranquility.

Sit quietly with your eyes closed for a few breaths, noticing how you feel, and then softly open your eyes.

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